Module 3: The Sociological Support System

The role of the sociologists was to document the shift in representations and practices, and catalyse them by creating space for individual and collective reflexivity.

In practice, this involved:

• Conducting regular individual interviews with the partners and stakeholders of the project, to collect data, but also to give them the opportunity to take a step back from the project and gain some perspective – which we assumed was an important step in the facilitating the learning process.
• Observation of the yearly seminars and giving “mirror-feedback” to the group, to discuss and consolidate a common vision of the evolving project.

This self-awareness allowed the consortium to manage a delicate balance between strengthening the common ground internally and expanding the community (risk of fragmentation, of losing the “spirit”).

What was in the mirror?

Observations and conclusions from the sociologists, who clarified the progress observed, the adaptations made (from proposal to implementation), the consensus (explicit or just taken for granted) and controversies (no consensus), what’s at stake, what seem to be weak spots or call for vigilance, the challenges… going into very concrete points (e.g., challenge to apply the methodology to large protected areas…)

The collective reflection led the group towards the realisation that our project entails more than a new management methodology for protected areas and people who work in them. More specifically, for the protected areas’ managers, it implies:

• Working under strong uncertainty, adaptative management instead of planning
• New knowledge and legitimacy on climate related topics
• More linkage with the area and stakeholders surrounding the PA (integrating the areas’ adaptation strategy)
• The delicate questions of translocation, non intervention…

Overall, it leads to redefining the role of protected areas managers, as well as the role of protected areas in conservation, society, and now adaptation. For instance, from preserving emblematic species/a natural heritage to maintaining a functional ecosystem.

These massive changes brought us to the somehow taboo question of the emotional toll of our enterprise on people working in protected areas.